1916.] The Poem Kumira-Sambhavam. 13 



11 and 63 are quoted. The poem itself is quoted therein 

 as an example under the sub- heads, description of night, 

 of sunset, of moon-rise, of wine-drinking and of amorous dalli- 

 ance, subjects which are peculiar to the eighth canto only. 1 



It is thus clear that this canto was known to the rhetori- 

 cians from before the ninth century, and that none considered 

 it to be spurious. Ksemendra in quoting the verses 61 and 

 87 calls them distinctly as Kalidasa's. 



Let us now turn to internal evidence. The first point is 

 T , ^T? a metre. The general metre of the canto 



Internal Evidence. . u ,, ? , . ] 



is Katnoanata, but the last verse is in 

 MalinL Such an arrangement introducing a variety in metre of 

 the last one or two verses is characteristic of Kalidasa's epic 

 poems. Moreover the metre Rathoddhata was used by the 

 poet, for instance, in the body of the eleventh canto of the 

 Raghuvamsam. MalinI metre was also used by him several 

 times for end verses, for example, in the second canto of the 

 Raghuvamsam, and in cantos first and second of the Kumara- 

 sambhavam. 



In grammatical constructions I have come across no marked 

 variations from the general run of Kalidasa's works. 



Next the subjects. They may be divided into two groups 

 of ideas, erotic and non-erotic. The erotic ideas and descriptions 

 need not be discussed at length. But in respect of them 

 the eighth bears the same relation to the other seven cantos 

 of the Kumara-sambhavam , that the nineteenth canto of the 

 Raghuvamsam bears to the rest of the cantos in that epic. 

 The standard of rhetorical excellence is similar. In fact the 

 rhetoricians while treating of the general ideas and various 

 stages of erotic sentiment, quoted the verses of the eighth 

 canto more frequently than the nineteenth, and quoted them 

 generally as models of the poetic art. 



The non-erotic group include verses describing natural 

 scenery, such as the sunset (30-47), and the evening (52-75) 

 on mountains. The easy flow of the lines, the general accu- 

 racy of the descriptions, the profusion and appropriateness 

 of the similes, and the high passionate imagery of some of 

 the ideas are not unworthy of the great poet. For example , 

 take the following 



38. The deers are entering the courtyards of the huts ; 

 the trees by water-sprinkling are looking up vigorous ; the cows 

 required for the Agnihotra (ceremony) are entering ; the fires 

 are burning (for the evening homa) ; in these ways the hermitage 

 is shining. 



40 The western sides touched by the ruddy sun from 



I The Kavy-anu'sasanatt', X. S. ed.. pp. 40. >. 102, :35o-6 (in the 

 tika of his own). For his time, see Peterson's Fifth Report, Introduc- 

 tion, p. lxxxv. 



